Eyes Hearts Hands: Urban Revolution
In an era where sustainability and digital innovation intersect, a novel project emerges in Europe, setting a new benchmark for urban development. This initiative, named EHHUR (Eyes Hearts Hands: Urban Revolution) deeply rooted in the principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) —sustainability, inclusivity, and aesthetics— demonstrates how digital tools can breathe life into these values, transforming the strategies of urban landscapes.
Interactive Digital Platforms: The Heart of Urban Engagement
Central to this initiative is an interactive digital platform that revolutionses the management of technical building systems and citizen engagement. This platform is not merely a technological advancement but a digital embodiment of the NEB's inclusivity principle, ensuring every resident's voice contributes to the collective urban narrative. The project's prowess in integrating digital solutions to retrofit existing infrastructure is a testament to the NEB's commitment to combining innovation with heritage. By infusing old buildings with new, smart technologies, the project ensures that history and progress walk hand in hand, preserving the past while embracing the future.
Adopting a digital approach to Collective Intelligence (CI) ensures that EHHUR aligns with the NEB's vision of collaborative creation. The digital systems implemented are designed to be adaptive, self-organising, and emergent, mirroring the dynamic and interconnected nature of European urban spaces, thus reflecting the NEB's aesthetic of connectivity and functional beauty. In keeping with the NEB's principle of sustainability, EHHUR features a digital repository that serves as a wellspring of knowledge, offering a curated selection of best practices and case studies. This repository acts as a digital guide, ensuring that the project's sustainable innovations are documented and disseminated for widespread adoption.
Mission
The EHHUR project, encapsulated by the evocative phrase "People-Centred, Wide-Open, and Forward-Looking," represents a pioneering approach to urban development. The project's unique methodology is structured around three interconnected pillars—Eyes, Hearts, and Hands—each playing a critical role in fostering sustainable and resilient cities.
Eyes: Aesthetic and Social Urban Renewal
The 'Eyes' pillar of the EHHUR project focuses on the aesthetic transformation of urban spaces, ensuring that changes are both visually appealing and socially accepted. It emphasises the revitalisation of cultural heritage and traditional infrastructure using local materials and skills, aligning with the New European Bauhaus principles of sustainability and circularity. Architectural strategies under this pillar are sensitive to the historical and cultural narratives of the districts, aiming to enhance public spaces with innovative designs that respect and elevate the existing urban fabric.
Hearts: Inclusive Community Engagement
Building on the 'Eyes' pillar, the 'Hearts' pillar of the EHHUR project is dedicated to inclusivity and social equity. It ensures that urban transformation is a collective journey, where no one is left behind. Through local co-design and co-creation processes, the project engages diverse socio-economic groups, including older adults, underprivileged individuals, and people with disabilities, allowing them to contribute to and influence the development of their communities. The establishment of citizen energy communities (CEC) exemplifies the project's commitment to fostering inclusive and sustainable energy practices.
Hands: Active Participation for Sustainability
The 'Hands' pillar addresses the tangible engagement and actions required to realise full sustainability in the context of smart cities. Recognising the importance of co-creation in urban planning, the EHHUR project employs innovative engagement tools and participatory models that encourage citizens to actively shape their built environment. The project's flexible model empowers stakeholders at every level of engagement, from being informed and consulted to collaborating and ultimately being empowered as agents of change.
Technical factsheet
- Date: October 2022-September 2025
- Funded EU
- NEB Value Sustainability, Inclusivity, Beauty
- Location Italy, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Turkey, European
- Value € 4 994 902,50
- Application category Model | Urban Design
- Related Technical Working Group Community and Sustainability
